Age group and sensory andmotor measures from theDean-WoodcockNeuropsychologicalAssessment System

No statistical difference between youngerchildren (ages 4-7) and older children (ages8-13) in the sample for visual confrontationscores.

Large grouping of ages, non-longitudinal,only up to age 13 with no adult comparisongroup, poor reporting of inter-subjectvariability, collected data on both males andfemales but grouped them into large agecategories, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Only included ages 15-17 to representadolescent group, small sample size, non-longitudinal, poor reporting of inter-subjectvariability, collected data on both males andfemales but made no comparisons, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Adolescents ages 11-13 displayed lowerabilities compared to the adult grouprelative to visual contributions for posturalcontrol, but adolescent group ages 14-15showed abilities similar to adult group.

Age group comparisons for adolescents onlygo up to age 15, non-longitudinal, cross-sectional groups with relatively small samplesizes for each age group, inter-subjectvariability within age groups was not well-assessed or discussed, utilized a compositeequilibrium score for postural control thatwas a function of maximal center of gravitydisplacement and theorized limits ofstability, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Age group, gain, phase,stimulus frequency swayamplitude, transient gain toeach of the oscillationconditions in the movingroom

Children as young as the 4 year old groupwere capable of showing an adaptiveresponse to changes in visual status butresponse to visual status change is not wellcalibrated compared to adults with even theoldest group of children (age 12) showingslower adaptation time and differentmagnitude of responses than the adultgroup. It also appears that children aremore influenced by visual stimuli in general.

Age group comparisons for adolescents onlygo up to

age 12, non-longitudinal, cross-sectional groups with relatively small samplesizes for each age group, inter-subjectvariability within age groups was not well-assessed or discussed, potential for sexdifferences not assessed, not reported ifassessors were blinded to age variable

for adolescents onlygo up to age 15, non-longitudinal, cross-sectional groups with relatively small samplesizes for each age group, inter-subjectvariability within age groups was not well-assessed or discussed, utilized a compositeequilibrium score for postural control thatwas a function of maximal center of gravitydisplacement and theorized limits ofstability, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

The adolescent group (ages 11-13) weresimilar to adult levels for passive motionsensitivity in

terms of accuracy butexhibited movement detection times thatwere slower than the adult group.

Group used to represent "adolescents" onlyincluded 11-13 year olds, small sample foreach group in the sample, no comparison ofmales to females, inter-subject variabilitywithin each groups not adequatelyaddressed, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

The adolescent group's use ofproprioceptive cues for postural stabilitywas significantly less efficient compared toadult scores from a different study leadingthe

authors to postulate that adolescentsmay undergo a period of transient neglectof proprioceptive cues during puberty.

Only utilized a sample of 14-15 year oldsand compared to young adult data collectedin a different study, not longitudinal, andincluded very little discussion about inter-subject variability, not reported if assessorswere blinded to age variable

The vestibular contributions to posturalstability may be the slowest sensorymechanism

for postural control to maturewith even the 14-15 unable to performsimilar to adults during vestibularchallenges. Also significant differenceswere found between girls and boys ages 7-8 for vestibular functioning with nosignificant differences found between visualand somatosensory conditions betweenboys and

girls in any of the age groups.

Age group comparisons for adolescents onlygo up to age 15, were cross-sectionalgroups with relatively small sample sizes foreach age group, inter-subject variabilitywithin age groups was not well-assessed ordiscussed, utilized a composite equilibriumscore for postural control that was a functionof maximal center of gravity displacementand theorized limits of stability, not reportedif assessors were blindedto age variable

However,mature adult-like sensory reweighting thatentails using information from all sensorymodalities simultaneously and adapting tosignals in conflict with one another,develops gradually over time duringchildhood

Relatively small sample (n=41) representinga large age range of 4-10 years old, samplewas not longitudinal and only went up to age10 with no adult comparisons, inter-subjectvariability not well analyzed, no male tofemale comparisons, not reported ifassessors were blinded to age variable

The results of this study indicate that girlsachieve more mature balance strategies atan earlier age than boys. Results alsoindicate that while postural control may bepartly affected by changes in stature aschildren grow, the development of thevisual, vestibular and somatosensorysystems may account for age-relatedchanges in postural control to a greaterextent.

Children as young as the 4 year old groupwere capable of showing an adaptiveresponse to changes in visual status butresponse to visual status change is not wellcalibrated compared to adults

with even theoldest group of children (age 12) showingslower adaptation time and differentmagnitude of responses than the adultgroup. It also appears that children aremore influenced by visual stimuli in general

Age group comparisons for adolescents

onlygo up to age 12, were cross-sectionalgroups with relatively small sample sizes foreach age group, inter-subject variabilitywithin age groups was not well-assessed ordiscussed, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Development of postural strategies underaltered sensory conditions are not likelycomplete even by age 11 with developmentoccurring in a non-linear fashion. Theresults of the eyes closed condition indicatethat more mature children exhibit moremature selection and re-weighting ofproprioceptive inputs to postural control

Use of a cross-sectional approach thatgrouped small samples of children in to age7, age 9 and age 11, not longitudinal,minimal analysis of inter-subject variability,no comparison of males to females, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Children and adults have similar abilities touse dynamic visual cues for posturalcontrol. However, when visual cues conflictwith somatosensory cues, childrendemonstrate decreased ability to controlposture compared to adults. In addition, theresults indicate that in both children andadults, some individuals simply have agreater reliance on visual cues while othersweight visual input on a much lower levelmaking them less susceptible to degradedor conflicting visual cues

Cross-sectional comparison of a child groupages 7-12 to adult group, sample size foreach group small (n=19-20) andrepresentative of large age range, non-longitudinal, minimal comparisons of inter-subject variability, collected data on bothmales and females but made nocomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Either because immaturity of the motorcortex, motor system circuitry or because ofless attentional capacity, children in theprepubertal group seem to be in a lessmature phase of motor preparation than theolder children. Older children (ages 12-18)Cross-sectional comparisons for groups of6-7, 8=9, 10=11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18, withrelatively small sample sizes for each of theage groups (sample size rages between 6-21 for each group), minimal reporting anddiscussion of inter-subject variability, dataBender et al.(2005)

collected on both males and females butminimal analyses and discussion regardingany differences, not reported if assessorswere blinded to age variable

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasure

16 adolescent subjects meanage 16.2 and 16 adults (allfemales)

Age group and visualmotionprocessing abilitiesand strategies

Between childhood and adulthood, visualprocessing strategies are qualitativelydifferent between adolescent group andadult group

Only included ages 15-17 to representadolescent group, small sample size, non-longitudinal, poor reporting of inter-subjectvariability, collected data on both males andfemales but made no comparisons, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Development of nerve fiber conductionspeed is near completion by the age of 6,but childrendo not perform as well onmotor tasks as adults. Results indicate thatfunctional improvement in motor tasks withage are not due to maturation ofcorticospinal tract but may relate to otherfactors such as neuron excitability andinhibitory control.

Small cross-sectional sample (n=10 in eachgroup) with children ages 6-9 in one groupand adults 22-26 in second group, samplewas not longitudinal, no reports regardinginter-subject variability, no male to femalecomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Older adolescents showed ability to inhibitresponses more quickly and corticalactivation patterns differ between

older andyounger adolescentswith increasedlocalization to regions of the brain thoughtto play more critical roles in motor planningand inhibition.

Cross-sectional comparisonof 19 subjectsages 8-20, non-longitudinal, no adultcomparison group, small sample for a sucha large age range, no comparison males tofemales, no reporting of inter-subjectvariability for same-age subjects, notreported if assessors were blinded to age

variable

Tamm et al.(2002)

38

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasure

20 subjects grouped into agegroups of 7-11 year oldchildren and adult group (agerange not specified)

Age group, fMRIcomparisons, learningconditions of block/random,reaction time

Study results indicate a development shiftin recruitment of motor subsystems duringvisuomotor processing from a subcorticaldominance during childhood to corticaldominance during adulthood.

Age group and frequencyspectral characteristics ofstanding balance for alteredsensory

conditions

Children appear to show less posturalstability in anterior-posterior directions thanadults

which may be a sign ofunderdeveloped ankle strategy.

Cross-sectional comparison of 17 adults(ages 18-23) and 17 children ages (ages 6-9), small sample for larger age ranges,"adults" may actually still be classified asadolescents, minimal comparisons of inter-subject variability, collected data on bothmales and females but made nocomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Neuromuscular control of knee motion afterlanding from a jump in females issignificantly worse than males during rapidadolescent growth. In addition, there was aregression in knee control in the yearfollowing a rapid growth spurt compared tothe year in which the growth spurt occurredfor females.

Neuromuscular control of knee motion afterlanding from a jump appears to regress infemales from prepubertal to early pubertalstages and decrease even further fromearly pubertal to late pubertal stages. Incontrast, males appear to improve inneuromuscular control of knee motion afterlanding from a jump across the maturationstages.

Notrepeated measures/longitudinal, nocomparisons by chronological age, no adultcomparisons, sample came from apopulation of athletes

Hewett et al.(2004)

42

Longitudinal,repeatedmeasures

for4-5 years

17 children (9 males, 8females) beginning at age 5-6and re-tested at 3-4 monthintervals until age of 8 forsome children and somesubjects up until age 9

Age, postural control interms of center of pressurevelocity and anteroposteriorexcursion

Results

indicate that individuals displaypatterns of development characterized bystages of ballistic control and transitionto"overcontrol" with a pronounced decreasein velocity and variability and eventually aphase of experimentation of increaseddecreases of freedom and variability. Highinter-subject variability for chronologicalages when the transitions occur indicatedthat classifying children by sensorimotordevelopmental stages may be more usefulthan classifying by chronological age.

Longitudinal but only for ages 5-8 (and acouple of subjects up to

age 9), smallsample size (n=17), used only center ofpressure velocity and variability of center ofpressure during quiet standing asoperational definition of "postural control",no comparisons between sexes, notreported if assessors were blinded to age

Younger children (up to about age 9)demonstrate postural control with eyesclosed that relies on large, ballisticoscillations to make adjustments.

Use of a cross-sectional approach thatgrouped small samplesof children in to age7, age 9 and age 11, not longitudinal, nocomparison of males to females, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

For reaching tasks of minimal difficulty,children in 10 year old age group exhibitedadult-like movement patterns but in tasks ofincreased difficulty, they childrendemonstrated patterns more like theyounger children than like the adults.

Cross sectional comparison of age group ofabout 6 years, about 10 years and about 20-27 years old, small sample size for each agegroup, minimal discussion of inter-subjectvariability within age groups, no male tofemale comparisons, not reported ifassessors were blinded to age variable

Streepey etal. (2002)

16

Inter-segmentalInter-limbCoordination

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasure

12 subjects (6 females and 6males) in each age group of6, 8, 10 and 18-22

Age group and powerspectral density of forcesignal output during variousisometric contractions of %of MVC with and withoutfeedback

The ability to adapt force production for agiven task withvisual feedback improveswith age through adolescence. Youngerchildren also tend to adapt with more abruptchanges in force whereas older childrenadapt in smoothertrajectory.

Cross-sectional comparisons for groups age6, 8, 10 and 18-22, oldest group does notquite reach outside "adolescent" range,relatively small sample size for each group,no male to female comparisons, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Deutsch et al.(2001)

45

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasures

17 participants in each of agegroup of 7 years, 10 yearsand 18-22 years

Age group and recurrencequantification analysis, toassess percentdeterminism and entropy ofcenter of pressure patternsunder various reachingtasks

Older subjects demonstrated center ofpressure

changes that were moredeterministic (less random, morestructured) than the younger subjects.

Cross sectional comparison of 7 year olds,10 year olds, 18-22 year olds, nocomparisons of within group variationsbetween groups, no male to femalecomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

The 11-14 year old children demonstratedmore structure and regularity in gaitdynamics (stride number, stride timevariability, spectral analysis) than the 6-7year old and 3-4 yearold groups.Comparisons to adult data from otherstudies indicate children may still beimproving beyond age 14.

Cross-sectional comparison of 3-4, 6-7, 11-14 year old groups, relatively small samplesizes for age ranges, comparison to adultsbased on data from other studies, non-longitudinal, no male to femalecomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Hausdorff etal. (1999)

47

Longitudinal,repeatedmeasures for4-5 years

17 children (9 males, 8females) beginning at age 5-6and re-tested at 3-4 monthintervals until age of 8 forsome children and somesubjects up until age 9

Age, postural control interms of center of pressurevelocity and anteroposteriorexcursion

Postural control in children ages 5-8, andsome to age 9 indicate that individualsdisplay patterns of developmentcharacterized by stages of ballistic controlthat transitions to a period of "overcontrol"with a pronounced decrease in velocity andvariability and eventually a phase ofexperimentation of increased decreases offreedom and variability. High inter-subjectvariability for chronological ages when thetransitions occur indicated that classifyingchildren by sensorimotor developmentalstages may be more useful than classifyingby chronological age.

Longitudinal but only for ages 5-8 (and acouple of subjects up to age 9), smallsample size (n=17), used only center ofpressure velocity and variability of center ofpressure during quiet standing asoperational definition of "postural control",no comparisons

Timed performances tend to improvethroughout entire prepubertal period butprogress varies depending on thecomplexity of the task with less complextasks seeming to plateau as early as 12-15while alternating and sequential movementscontinued to improve (and may continue toimprove) up to the age of 18 and beyond.Results indicate that there are long-lastingdevelopmental changes with large inter-individual differences.

Partial longitudinal data but only for oneyear, the rest of the sample consisted ofcross-sectional comparisons of ages 5, 7,12, 15, and 18, no adult comparison group,not reported if assessors were blinded toage variable

Duration and degree of associatedmovements improve with age following anon-linear course that is a function of thecomplexity of the task. Also, significantinterindividual variation was observed for allmotor tasks at most ages. Femalesdisplayed less frequent and lesspronounced associated movementscompared to males as well as showedimprovements at an earlier age than males.

Partial longitudinal data but only for oneyear, therest of the sample consisted ofcross-sectional comparisons of ages 5, 7,12, 15, and 18, no adult comparison group,not reported if assessors were blinded toage variable

Largo et al.(2001)

49

Correlational,Singlemeasure

57 children (32 females, 25males) ages 7-18

Age, total path, center ofpressure sagittal, lateral,velocity

Non-voluntary sway patterns do not changeas a result of increases in age, body heightor body mass. However, voluntary swaycontrol (e.g., postural task with visualfeedback)

improves with age

Large age range 7-18 with relatively smallsample size (n=57), non-longitudinal,correlational analysis that did not reportinter-subject variability for subjects nearsame age, collected data on males andfemales and compared but comparisonsbetween males and females were based onthe entire age range (ages 7-18), notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Lebiedowskaet al. (2000)

50

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasure

45 children (22 females, 23males) ages 5-11 and 49young

adults (24 females, 25males) mean age 20 yearsold

Age group and gender,errors on in-phase fingertapping and anti-phasefinger tapping tasks

Children were able to perform essentiallyadult-like control of in-phase activation. Incontrast, children, particularly boys arechallenged by anti-phase movements.Between the ages of about 10 years andyoung adulthood, there is an improvementCross-sectional comparisons of children agerange 5-11 and older group classified as"adults" mean age of 20, non-longitudinal,"adult" group is still within adolescent agerange, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Milling-Smithet al. (2002)

51

in accuracy with which antiphasemovements can be performed effectively.

Children 4-6 had difficulty isolating eyemovement from head or hand movement,children ages 7-9 show improved ability toisolate the eye, and by 10-15 years childrenbecome proficient in isolating handmovements from eye movements.Increased postural support decreasedprocessing time for planning the movementespecially for the younger children but ledto differential slowing of coordination ofmovements for children ages 7-9 (apparentregression) which may reflect the childrenin this stage being in a transitional statefrom ballistic control to more independentcontrol.

Not longitudinal, used a cross-sectionalapproach with groups of ages 4-6, 7-9 and10-15, non-longitudinal small samples sizesfor each age and gender group, no adultcomparisons no reporting of intersubjectvariability, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Children in younger groups had smaller-magnitude and less-synergic muscleactivity, lower peak torques, longer times torestabilize the center of pressure andgreater paths than the older/higherdevelopmental groupings. Grouping bydevelopmental level may be a betterpredictor of balance abilities thanchronological age.

Cross-sectional comparisons of 9-16months, 17-30 months, 3 years, 4-6 years,7-10 years, no middle adolescence or adultcomparisons, non-longitudinal, no male tofemale comparisons, not reported ifassessors were blinded to age variable

Sundermier etal. (2001)

54

Cross-sectional,Singlemeasure

6 children mean age 10.3 and6 adults mean age 26.3

Age group, center of mass

trajectory changes for head,neck, trunk and pelvis,timing of center of masschanges

Children partitioned obstacle avoidance intotwo tasks, initially steering with movementof head and trunk and then adjusting gaittrajectory while adults coordinated both intoa single change in trajectory with a slowingof gait in anticipation of obstacles in theirpath.

Cross-sectional comparison of group ofchildren ages 8-12 to group of adults meanage of 26, small sample size for each group(n=5-6), non-longitudinal, no male to femalecomparisons, not reported if assessors wereblinded to age variable

Age group, gender, mean absoluteerror scores for right foot-right handmatching, right foot-left handmatching, left foot-right handmatching, left foot-left handmatching

Proprioceptive sensitivity as measured bylimb matching tasks appears to show a non-linear developmental trend for both boys andgirls with an apparent

phase of decreasedsensitivity around age 8 for girls and aroundage 9 for boys.

Not longitudinal, used a cross-sectionalapproach only including ages 5-12, smallsamples sizes for each age and gendergroup, no adult comparisons no reportingof intersubject variability, not reported ifassessors were blinded to age variable

Pubertal group and maximum kneeabduction angle and knee abductionmoment

Repeated measures cohort design, withmeasurements completed one year apart--Neuromuscular control of knee motion afterlanding from a jump in females is significantlyworse than neuromuscular control exhibitedby males during rapid adolescent growth. Inaddition, there was a regression in kneecontrol in the year following a rapid growthspurt compared to the year in which thegrowth spurt occurred for females.

No pre-growth spurt comparisons, nocomparisons by chronological age, noadult comparisons, sample came from apopulation of athletes

afterlanding from a jump appears to regress infemales from prepubertal to early pubertalstages and decrease even further from earlypubertal to late pubertal stages. In contrast,males appear to improve in neuromuscularcontrol of knee motion after landing from ajump across the maturation stages.

Not repeated measures/longitudinal, nocomparisons by chronological age, noadult comparisons, sample came from apopulation of athletes

Hewett et al.(2004)

42

Longitudinal,repeatedmeasures for 4-5 years

17 children (9males, 8 females)beginning at age5-6 and re-testedat 3-4 monthintervals until ageof 8 for somechildren and somesubjects up untilage 9

Results of the longitudinal analysis of posturalcontrol in children ages 5-8, and some to age9 indicate that individuals display patterns ofdevelopment characterized by stages ofballistic control that transitions to a period of"overcontrol" with a pronounced decrease invelocity and variability and eventually a phaseof experimentation of increased decreases offreedom and variability. High inter-subjectvariability for chronological ages when thetransitions occur indicated that classifyingchildren by sensorimotor developmentalstages may be more useful than classifying bychronological age.

Longitudinal but only for ages 5-8 (and acouple of subjects up to age 9), smallsample size (n=17), used only center ofpressure velocity and variability of centerofpressure during quiet standing asoperational definition of "postural control",no comparisons between sexes, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable

Age group, kinematics of hand,gaze tracking, manipulation ofpostural support

Children ages 4-6 had difficulty isolating eyemovement from head or hand movement,children 7-9 showed improvement in ability toisolate the systems and children ages 10-15were even more proficient at isolating thesystems. Addition of postural supportappeared to improve ability to quickly performthe tasks for children ages 4-6 and 10-15, butcaused a differential slowing but increasedaccuracy of coordinated movements for theages 7-9 group.

Not longitudinal, used a cross-sectionalapproach with groups of ages 4-6, 7-9 and10-15, small samples sizes for each ageand gender group, no adult comparisonsno reporting of intersubject variability, notreported if assessors were blinded to agevariable